Insulator



un. 626,055. rammed may au, 189m W. E. HOLMES. INSULATUR.

[Anuman mnd nb. 1o, 1809,)

I n Il adel.)

UNITED STAT-Es PATENT OFFICE.

WELLES E. HOLMES, 0l? NEXVTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

INSULAT'OR.

SPECIFICATION forming parl; 0f Letters Patent N0. 323,065, dal ed May 30, 1899. Application Elcd Februnryl, 1899. `{Boris} No. 705,637. No model.)

To aZL whom t nmy concern: Beit known that| I, WELLES E. HOLMES, of Newton, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and .useful Improvements in Insulators, of which the following is a speciiication. This invention has relation to insulators for conductors, such as electric-light, telephone, .or-telegraph wires; and it has for its object to provide a device of the character mentioned particularly applicable for snspending or supporting the conductors from trees or other objects that are liable to move or sway. When the wires are strung near the branches of trees, the swinging of the latter frequently causes them to rub against the wires and abrade the insulating material thereon. This may be prevented in a certain degree by mechanically connecting the wires to the limbs by insulators; but heretofore this has been impractieable, first, by reason of the diliicnlty of attaching the wires which have been already strung to the insulators, and, second, because the rigid attachment ci' the wires to the limbs rendered them unsafe and liable to be broken when thetrees were swayed about by storms and high winds.

The present invention provides an insulator which may bc secured to the limb or branch ofa tree to move therewith when tossed or swayed by the wind, which is formed for attachment to a wire already strung and which has provisions for permitting the wire to move relatively thereto without injury to the wire or the insulating material thereon.

The prescntinvcntion further provides an insulator in which the parts are capable of movement in various directions, all as illus` .trated upon the drawings and new lo be deelevation an insulator embodying my invern' tion. Fig. represents a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 represents a front elevation of the insulator. Fig. i represents a vertical section therethrough on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 represents the clamping members detached from the insulating-spool for the purpose of clamping the wire therein. Fig. (i represents a horizontal section on'thc line 6 G of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, it will he seen that the insulator consists, mainly, of three parts, the metallic support a, the insulating spool l1, and the clamp c. The support is proA vided with a screw a', which muy be driven into the limb of a tree or into a pole. The other end of the support is bifurcaicd to provide two arms o?, which form a semicirele, as shown in Fig. 2, and between them-msn2 and the screw is a shoulder a3, which fo rms a head for the latter. Trunnioned in apertures in the ends of the arms c. is a ring formed in two parte b' 112, of which the part b' is in the form of a semicirle and' has its ends b prof jected radially to form the -ii-unnions. other half b of the ring is secured in place by bending its ends around trunnions, so as to loosely clasp the spool between it and the portion b' of -the ring. rlhc part l1' of the ring is secured in the support when the insulator is ready for nso, and after the support' has been driven into place by the lineman thc spool is clamped to the part b' by the other half Il, which, as will 'be seen from the drmviugs, may be a strip of wire.

The spool b, which is constructed ol` any suitable insulating material, such as porcelain or glass, is provided with a groove b* to receive the ring, and it is substantially-frnsto con ical, with the top rounded. lts lower portion is formed with the usual skirtslr" b, and itis provided with a threaded vsocket if [or the clamp.'

The metallic clamp c is formed in twn purtious c' c', which are separable on longitudnal lines, as shown in Fig. 5. At oneeud the clamp is threaded, as at ci, to be screwed into the socket l7 of the spool, and at its other end it is formed with an aperture cigrealer in diameter than the conductor (l to permit the latter to play therein.

inasmuch as the insulator, as previously stated, is to be used for wires or conductors that have been already strung, it is evident that the parts must be so related that the then inserted in the spool. This is accom- The roo

clamps can be attached to the conductor and plished by forming the clamp in two separate portions and mountingr the spool rotatably in the support` for il` is obvious that the clamp cannot he rotated attcr it has been engaged with the wire.

To ser-nre the parts together, the support is first screwed or driven into place, and th(- spool is attached thereto by windingr the ends of the wire baround the trnnnions Il. 'lhen the two members of the clamp are clasped about the conductor, as shown in Fig. and their ends are inserted in the socket bl, after which the clamp is held stationary and the spool is rotated, so as to draw the threaded port-ion of the clamp into the socket Li.

ly reason o f the large diameter of the aperture c", formed in thc lower end of he clamp, the conductor is free to move longitudinally therethrough, or the insulator may be moved relatively to the wire without much danger 'of abrading the insulation therein. Even should the insulation be stripped from the conductor there is no danger of the eu rrent being short-circuited, since the clamp is thoroughly insulated byy the spool b from the support a.

The support may he set at practically any angle to the longitudinal axis of the spool, as

shown in dotted lines in Fig. l, whereby it-q may be driven into any accessible place in the limb of a tree or elsewhere.

The trunnions permit the spool to rock about an axis at an ane-le to its longitudinal axis of rotation when the limbs ot" the trees are swayed by the wind, and by mountingr the spool so as to tu rn in the trunnioning-ring it may bc swung, as shown in dotted lilies in Fig. 6, to accommodate a wire running in any direction relatively to the axis of the trunuions. 4

I do not wish to he understood as limiting myself to any ol' the details oi' consti-nothin of the parts above described, since it is evident to those skilled in the art to which thisl invention relates that the spool and the support may be varied in shape to suit any parv ticularrequirements and that the clamp may be attached to the spool by means other than the threaded connection.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, although without. attempting to set forth all ot the forms in which it may be made or allot' the modes of its use, l dcclarethat, what l claim is l. An insulatorcoinprisingaelampadapted to loosely enga-gc a conductor, a spool o1' insulating material having a socket to d etaf aably receive said clamp, and a support i'or said spool.

2. An insulator comprising a S111-, ort, an insulating-spool, connections bet/wt ln said support and said spool whereby the latter is rotatable about two intersecting axes, and a spool, a support, and trunnions for pivotally conoce-ting. said spool to said support, said spool being rotatable about an axis intersectim.: the axis ot' the trunuious.

l. An insulator comprising a support, an ins-uhu ing-spool carried by said support, and a clamp consisting' of non-rotary clampingjaws mounted iu the spool to engage theconduetor, said parts being connected whereby said clamp is rotatable about either ot' two intersect ing axes.

7. An insulator comprising a bifurcated support, a ring having trunnions journaled in the bitureatcd end ofsaid support, an in snlating-spool rotatably mounted in said ring, and a conductorclamp having a threaded connect ion with said spool.

S. An insulator comprisingr a support, an insulating-spool rotatably mounted in said support and having a threaded socket, and a thrmided eonilmrtor-champ detachably secured in said socket.

9. An insulator comprising a support, an insulating-spool rotatably mounted in said .support and having a threaded socket, and a threaded eoluluctor-clamp detaehahly secured in said Socket, said clamp beingformed iu two separable portions.

l0. An insulator comprising a su pport having an attaching member on one end aml forked arms`on the other, a spool rotatably secured in said arms, and havinga threaded socket located eoneentrieally with its axis of rotation, and a threaded clamp detachably inserted in said socket.

11. An insulator comprising asupport havin;r an attaching member on one end and forked arms on the other, a ringhaving trunnions journaled iu said arms, an insulatingspool mounted to rotate in .said ring, and havin;r a threaded socket, aml a-threaded condoctor-clamp formed of two members separable on longitudinal lines, and detachablyA inserted in Isaid socket.

ln testimony whereof I have atlixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

\\'l'll.l .-`,r` E. HOLMES.l \Vtnessos;

A. D. llamamos, M. B. MAY.

IOC 

